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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29933076">Saving Grace</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman'>buckyismymainman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ACOTAR One Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, F/M, Injury, Mentions of kidnapping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:34:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,886</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29933076</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Elain has been captured by Hybern and Azriel is going to get her back.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elain Archeron/Azriel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>ACOTAR One Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2203890</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Saving Grace</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Graysen had been calling her name.  She had heard him from her tent.  With her new hearing abilities, she hadn’t questioned it.  All she wanted was to go back to normal, to be normal again.  She wanted to live with Graysen as a mortal woman, to run a home and have a family.  When she had been tossed into the Cauldron she lost everything she had ever dreamed of and thrown into a new life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was still mourning the life she could have had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes, she would get to be with her sisters forever now, but forever was a long time.  She knew next to nothing about the Fae except for the stories that she was told as a child.  Now she was one of the things that went bump in the night.  Her fiancé - or should she say former fiancé? - no longer wanted anything to do with her, or so she had thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she reached that copse of trees the image of Graysen was there, but something felt wrong.  The man before her looked like Graysen, but a fog on her mind was lifting and she realized that she had been tricked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it was too late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Cauldron whisked her away and right into the King of Hybern’s hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grinned at her and she cringed away, Jurian watching her from beside the king.  “Welcome pretty little bird,” he looked back at Jurian who seemed to understand what the King wanted.  Then she was being dragged from one tent to another praying that someone would save her soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azriel wanted to rage, he wanted to tear the Cauldron apart with his bare hands.  It had stolen Elain away and he was going to get her back.  He had to get her back.  He wasn’t sure why he felt this strong need to save Elain, why he needed to protect her.  If anyone was going to save her it would be her mate, but Lucien was nowhere to be seen and Azriel wasn’t even sure he knew that Elain was missing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And to be honest he didn’t really care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Feyre in his arms they flew to the camp.  He felt on edge, nervous about how this was going to go.  Nesta said that he would die and if he were being honest he didn’t care as long as he got his High Lady and Elain out of there.  He was a soldier in a war you never knew if today would be your last day.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sneaking in was one thing, it was getting out that was going to prove the difficult task.  Jurian found them and he knew that Feyre’s disguise as Ianthe was a farce.  Azriel hated how he made Feyre cling to him, how she had to act like Ianthe, but he had to remind himself that this was to get Elain.  They had to play parts as they did every time they went to the Hewn City.  Now was no different than then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Jurian led them through the camp Azriel paid more attention to their surroundings versus listening to the conversation that his High Lady and Jurian were having.  He heard Jurian say that Elain had remained untouched.  If she hadn’t Azriel would have torn down the entire damn camp.  His anger cooled some, but just enough to keep from losing it completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azriel briefly heard Jurian mention meeting at a cliff nearby.  From there he could fly Elain to safety until they could winnow away.  Feyre motioned for Azriel to keep following, Elain was in the King of Hybern’s tent and when they arrived they saw her chained, her nightgown slightly dirty.  Azriel wished that he could give her something to cover herself with.  Feyre was praying, keeping her act as Ianthe in place, but her face shifted back to her own and Azriel knelt before Elain, their eyes locking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could see the relief in her eyes and her breath hitched as his scarred hands came up and removed her gag, “Are you hurt?”  He had to know that she was all right, that they had not harmed her despite what Jurian had said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elain was speechless for a moment, she wanted to throw her arms around Azriel, never in a million years had she expected him to come for her.  They barely knew one another, little moments stolen here and there.  Glances she had thrown his way.  She had wondered once or twice why the Cauldron hadn’t gifted her him as a mate.  Why it had been a man that had sided with the one that sold her and her sister out?  That had nearly killed Azriel and Cassian.  She may not have known her sister’s new family well, but she knew that she wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.  They had cared for Feyre, kept her safe.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You came for me,” she breathed out the words, and Azriel gave a slight nod of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They couldn’t stay long, they needed to get to the cliff before anyone realized what was going on.  It all happened so fast, chaos broke out in the camp.  The King of Hyber knew that something was wrong, something had alerted him to their presence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They ran through the camp, Azriel promising Feyre that if Jurian wasn’t there with the human girl they had seen on their way in then he would go for her.  Elain didn’t look thrilled that he would be putting himself in more danger, but he also knew she wouldn’t want to leave the mortal girl there as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He used his siphons to protect them as they ran, a howl ringing through the night.  Hounds were after them now.  When they reached the edge of the camp the human girl was there.  Feyre said that she would get her and that it was Azriel’s job to get Elain out.  He didn’t like the idea of leaving his High Lady behind, but it was an order.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Feyre fell, and Azriel wanted to do something.  Anything to help her, but before he could a beast appeared and he knew that that was Tamlin.  Tamlin was saving Feyre and she was up and scrambling away from the hounds that were on their heels.  They needed to fly, it was the only way they would get out of here safely.  Feyre wasn’t sure if she could fly with the girl in her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have time to worry about if she could do it or not.  They had been training and he trusted her to be able to do this, especially in the life and death situation they faced now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elain was clinging to Azriel, watching the chaos over his shoulder, her heart thundering in her chest.  She wished that there was more she could do.  She did not have wings like Azriel and she could not fire a bow and arrow as Feyre could.  But she would do everything she could to make sure they weren’t followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at the human girl and noted that she looked afraid.  She had just been kidnapped by Fae and here they were.  Trying to save her, but still Fae nonetheless.  “Grab onto him!”  She ordered her.  “If you want to live, do it now!” Azriel was taking flight and the girl grabbed on, afraid, but not willing to die yet.  Relief flooded through Elain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But her relief was short lived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they flew one of the hounds launched itself at Azriel and he cried out in pain as its claws raked down Azriel’s spine and wings.  Elain made a noise as Azriel roared in pain, but kept them aloft.  The human girl was screaming, but Elain drowned it out and with all her strength kicked at the hound.  Over and over she kept kicking as hard as she could until it released Azriel and fell into the ravine below them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A little farther and with some difficulty they made it far enough, breaking through the wards, and winnowing back to the camp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azriel bleeding from where the hound had attacked him still clung to Elain, not willing to let her go.  People surrounded him, pestering him about how he was doing and trying to get a healer to him, but he didn’t care.  His only thought was getting them to look at Elain, to check her and make sure that she was all right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let them look at you,” she whispered around the flitting Fae.  “You’re bleeding.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His gaze was on her face, assessing her, but he said, “Not until they check you first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stubborn man,” she hissed, slightly frustrated that he wasn’t taking care of himself.  “You’re injured!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you were captured, you need medical attention just as much as I.  I want to be sure you’re all right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nesta was there, Elain was being taken from his arms, but they didn’t stop staring at one another, not until Rhys caught his attention.  He was being told that he needed to come to one of the medical tents to get attention to his wings and claw marks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elain listened to Nesta fuss over her, but she didn’t hear the word she spoke.  She watched Azriel turn away from her, watched him be led off.  She saw those claw marks and for a moment she couldn’t breathe.  It was her fault that he had been injured.  Her fault that he and her sister had been put in that situation.  But soon those thoughts ebbed away as more and more people approached her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That night under the cover of darkness she once again slipped out of her tent, but this time she traveled only a few tents away to where she knew Azriel was supposed to be resting.  He was awake of course.  He was lying on his stomach.  His wounds wrapped.  He shifted when he heard her enter.  “Elain?  What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I came to check on you… to say thank you for what you did for me,” she sat in a chair next to his bed, her hands balled into her lap.  “You risked a lot, and it means the world to me that you did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t going to leave you there with Hybern and his forces,” he told her.  “I couldn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She offered him a small smile, “You are the first person to treat me with kindness and understanding since I became Fae.  I never would have thought I would find kindness on this side of the wall, but I’m glad to know there are good Fae in this world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stretched out a hand and placed it on top of hers, “You deserve to be happy Elain.  I know what was stolen from you, and I wish I could change it, but you will always have me in your corner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elain stood and bent to kiss his forehead, “Try to get some rest, Azriel.  And try not to strain yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slipped out and Azriel tried not to think about how he could still feel where her lips had brushed against his forehead.  How it had made his blood race and soul sing.  She was not his and never would be, but he would make sure the world was a better place for her so that she could be happy here.</span>
</p><p><br/>
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